Pumping apparatus



- H. LWHEELER. PuMPsNG APPARATUS. PPLICATION FILED JUNE 1.6, 1920.

Patented Jan, r31,'- 1922.

' vmeente.. t

' Nri'ED STATES' APix'rsirr ori-"ics,

HmVEYKJ. WHEELER, F BROOKLYN, -NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 H. J'. WHEELR SALVAGECO., INC., 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

- Poitrine Arramrus.

To alf t concern: v. l

Be it known that I, HERVEY J. WHEELER,

a citizenof ythe United States, residing in the city of New York,'borough of Brooklyn, in

the countylof Kings ail State of New York,

have invented a certain new and useful 1inprovement in Pumping Apparatus, of which the following is a specification. 1

The invention relates to means for lifting and transferringmaterial from a lowerto a higher level, andas it has been carried out in practice is designed more particularly for pumping the residue from the oil tanks of cil-burning vessels.

rlhis waste material is 'generally a thick greasy mass, almost jelly-like in consistency, very unpleasant and dicult to handle. Its

' removal by ordinary methods is a slow and.

jas

exceedingly dirty operation; usually the material is dipped from the tanks in buckets which are passed by hand to the main deck of the ship, emptied into barrels and passed back empty for refilling at the oil-tanks.- The barrels as filled are lowered over the side to .a barge or lighter to be carried away. The material is of suoli nature as to preclude its handling by a force-pump, and as the lift from the tank-'covers to the ships rail is generali from thirtyo to fifty feet, it is impracticable to remove it by ordinary suction pumping operations.

The object of the invention is to provide means for transferring the material directly from the oil-tanks to overside receptacles.v I have discovered Athat with a combined vacuum-suction and Siphon action, thisand other materials may be raised and delivered overside through a hose, thus permitting the operation of cleaning the oil-tanksto be quickly and economically performed while; avoiding the discomfort .and dirt attending the usual operation. f

The invention consists in certain novel features and arrangements of parts by which the above objects are attained, to lbehereinafter described and claimed.

The accompanying drawings form .a part of this specification and Show. the apparatus in the form4 now beingv successfully operated.

Figure 1 is an incomplete transverse sec. tion of a vessel, and end elevation of a barge Specication'of Letters Patent. Patented Jan. 319 1922. Application led .Tune 16,

1920. seriai N6. 389,288.

alongside, showing a portion Iofvthe apparatus carried thereon. s

Figure 2 is a plan view on a larger scale, of thebarge and its pumping equipment.

Figure 3 is an elevation of the suction nozzle on a still larger scale.

Figure 4 is a corresponding vertical Section, taken on the line 4--4 in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a plan View of the under face of the nozzle.

Similar letters of reference indicate the saine parts in all the figures.

il. is a ship having tanks A1 as usual 'in which oil for the furnaces is carried'below the hold, and containing the waste oil residue to be removed. Y

t B is a barge or like vessel ranged alongside the ship and carrying the pumping equipment. C indicates the location of an engine or motor, not shown, having a shaft C1 and pulley C2, and D is an air pump having a shaft D1 and pulley D2 driven by a belt C3 from the engine.

F F are cylindrical exhaust tanks of large capacity carried horizontally on the barge and arranged in tandem pairs on each side thereof. The tanks of each pair are connected at their adjacent ends on the upper face by pipes F1 'F1 with a controlling valve F 2 yfor each tank, and the pipes F1 are connected by a transverse pipe F3 from which extends a pipe F4 to the suction side of the air-pump D. Thisexhaust system is made up in the present apparatus'of 2% inch pipe through which a high vacuum is maintained in the tanks by the action of the .air-pump.

The opposite ends of the tanks'are connected by transverse pipes G1 G1 with a valve G1 for each' tank, and from each of the pipes G1 extends a branch pipe G3 controlled by a valve Gr4 which join together at a hose connection G. This suction line is of 2 inch pipe and the hose connection G receives .a 2 inch hose -H which extends upwardly from the barge,'over the rail of the ship A, and thence downwardly through any available passage-ways'to the'oil tanks A1;

On the free end ,of the hose is/ a suctionv suction orifice k @i of an inch wide by 2 inches long. Above the suction orifice and shown as inthe larger portion of the nozzle, is a small air inlet aperture h1 controlled by an air-cock H2.

rlhe capacity of the air-pump is suficient to maintain a high Vacuum in the exhaust tanks F, 25 inches of mercury'or higher, when the suction orifice h is not submerged and the air-cock H2 open. j

ln operating, the nozzle is thrust into the material which is drawn up through the inboard leg of the hose and down through, the outboard leg, and through the suction line G1 G3 to the exhaust tanks. When the latter are filled or partly filled theoperation is discontinued and the material drawn off from the tanks F by any suitable delivery means, shown as the discharge pipes J connected to the lower faces of the exhaust tanks and each controlled by a valve J1.

The nozzle is lowered to follow the level of the material as the latter falls, and is transferred from one to another as the oil tanks are successively emptied.

The function of the air-inlet aperture tl is to supply a quantity of air to the mass of thick jelly-like materlal entering the nozzle H1 and agitate or crack such material mechanically by mixing air therewith and thus effecting an emulsion or mechanical dilution essential to the transfer. In submerging the suction orifice la. of the nozzle care must be taken not to submerge the air-inlet aperture h1 controlled by the air-cock H2. By adjusting the latter the proportion of air may be varied as requiredby the character of the material to be transferred.

It will be noted the material does not enter the pump, the function of which is simply to maintain the high vacuum in the exhaust tanks F F.

By the use of this apparatus the opgeration yof emptying and cleaning the oil-tanks is performed expeditiously and without the annoyance and the fouling of the ship due.

to ordinary methods, thus e'ecting a great saving in both time and expense.

With the apparatus as shown and described the dense residue in the oil-tanks has been raised and delivered through an inboard leg of hose having a` Vertical height from twentyive to fortys'ix feet in various situations with a vacuum indicated by twentyeight inches of mercury.

It is believed that by continued practical remployment of the apparatus other forms and proportions may be developed by which the eiciency or capacity may be further increased, but the sizes and proportions herein given are known to attain the results stated.

Although the invention is shown and described as designed to pump the residue from the oil-tanks of oil-burning ships, it will be understood that it will serve successfully in transferring liquids.,r semi-liquids, or other materials in any situations in which a lift is required above that attainable by the direct action of a suctionpump.

l claim l.- The herein described method of transferring viscous material directly from theinterior of a maritime vessel to an overside receptacle, which consists in creating a high vacuum in said receptacle to thereby suck such materialto an .elevation and deliver it directly into said receptacle, and admitting air 1n small quantities into the suction end of the conveying pipe to emulsiy said material.

2. rlhe apparatus described, comprising a series of exhaust tanks, an air-pump, a system of unrestricted exhaust pipes connecting said tanks to said pump, means forY driving said .pump to maintain a high vacuum in said tanks, a system of suction pipes of less diameter thansaid exhaust pipes, connecting said tanks, a hose con- Y nected to said suction system and of the same diameter as said suction pipes, anda suction nozzle having a body of less diameter than saidhose and a suction orifice of less area than such body.- Y

3. The apparatus described, comprising a series of exhaust tanks, an air-pump, a system of unrestricted exhaust pipes connectvthan such body, and an air-inlet aperture in such body above such orifice, and an aircock controlling such aperture.

In testimony that I claim 'the invention above set forth I ailix my signature.

nnnvnv J. WHEELER. 

